Kalevala

The village of Kalevala is one of the most ancient settlements in the north of Karelia. The first written information about the settlement dates back to the 16th century. The original name of the settlement is Ukhta. The settlement is located on the shore of Lake Srednee Kuito near the mouth of the Ukhta River. In the 19th century, the settlement consisted of three parts. The northernmost part - Lamminpokhya - is located on both sides of the river. The eastern part - Ryhya and Mitkala - is located at the mouth of the river on both banks, and the third - Likopäya - on the shore of the lake to the west. The total number of houses was up to 170. Since the 1830s, Ukhta has become famous thanks to the research of Elias Lönnrot, a Finnish linguist, folklorist, collector of Karelian runes and compiler of the Karelian-Finnish epic Kalevala. Currently, Kalevala is the regional center of the Kalevala region. In Kalevala there is a house-museum of rune singers Maria Remshu. The ethnocultural center "Kalevalatalo" operates. Separate old buildings dating back to the end of the 19th - early 20th centuries have been preserved. The distance to Petrozavodsk is 550 km. Kem railway station is located 160 km east of the village, with which Kalevala is connected by a road.